Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman will deliver keynote remarks at the Ministerial Meeting on Mesoamerican Electricity Integration, an important element to further the Connecting the Americas 2022 Initiative (Connect 2022). Her remarks will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 11:15 a.m. at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) headquarters at 1300 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.

Launched by Colombia at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Connect 2022 seeks to provide access to clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to citizens across the Western Hemisphere by increasing the interconnection of electricity grids by 2022. Electrical interconnection will create a platform for continued development and will propel the expansion of low-carbon energy sources. Connect 2022 supports the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), launched by President Obama at the 2009 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. ECPA promotes regional collaboration on low-carbon development, energy security, and climate change.

The Western Hemisphere has made significant progress to integrate power sectors and promote cross-border trade in electricity with support from the IDB, World Bank, Organization of American States (OAS), donors, and private companies. During the Ministerial, Ministers of Foreign Relations, Finance, and Energy, as well as utility regulators and executives from Mesoamerica will discuss ways to advance electricity interconnection, energy security, and low-carbon energy in the region.

The remarks will be open to the press. Final access time for press: 11 a.m. at 1300 New York Avenue NW. The event will conclude at 11:45 a.m.

Media representatives who wish to attend this event should RSVP to John Ferriter in the IDB Office of External Relations (johnfe@iadb.org) in order to receive clearance to enter the IDB building.

For further information, please contact John Finn at finnjw@state.gov or (202) 647-7959.